In re Kadon M.

Syllabus

The respondent mother appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court transferring guardianship of her minor child, K, to K's paternal grandmother. After K had been adjudicated neglected, he was committed to the custody of the petitioner, the Commissioner of Children and Families. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a motion to open and modify the dispositive order of protected supervision to transfer guardianship to K's paternal grandmother. During the trial on the motion to open, the trial court denied the oral motion of the court-appointed attorney for K to appoint a guardian ad litem. On appeal, the mother claimed that the trial court abused its discretion by denying that motion. Held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied the oral motion to appoint a guardian ad litem, as the court did not require the input of a guardian ad litem in order to determine the best interests of K; the decision to appoint a guardian ad litem was within the broad discretion of the trial court, the court's denial of the motion to appoint a guardian ad litem in no way precluded the respondent mother or the attorney for K from presenting evidence for the court to weigh and consider in conducting its best interests analysis, and the mother failed to explain how the court's failure to appoint a guardian ad litem would have affected the trial, as the record before the trial court was replete with evidence to assist its determination of the best interests of K, including evidence that the mother had not complied with the specific steps ordered by the court and ample evidence to support the court's finding that the paternal grandmother, who had played a major role in K's life and was licensed as a foster parent to care for similar children, was a suitable and worthy guardian. Argued September 6—officially released October 21, 2019